Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1887-04-27
From the New York Times.

tired Of hearing those men who go
down to sea in ships speak of their
perils and strange adventures. A
bronzed old Jack Tar, who was
anchored alongside of me for g. couple
of hours the other day, and who an
sWered to the name of John Scott,
gave me the following thrilling incident,
which / believe to be true in every de-
tail
at was in the spring of 1872" said
Scott, as he made ready, "that ran
away from the American bark Twin
Sisters at Hong Kong, being thor
oughly disguised with the tyranny
and cruelty Of the captain and mate.
There was Frenchman there who
kept sort of hiding place for runa-
ways, and, although we were pretty
sharply looked after for few days,
we were not discovered, and the bark
went on up the coast. We knocked
about for g. few days without turning
up anything, and then I shipped
aboard a small brig which traded be-
tween Hong Kong and the Philippine
Islands to the east. She was called
the Explorer, and her captain and
part owner was an Englishman
named Garnsey. The mate was
also an Englishman, and of the six men
of us before the mast two were Ameri-
cans, one g. Lascar, one a negro, and
the other two were Norwegians. We
were sill runaways, and glad enough to
get q job, and when we found captain
and mate pretty good fellows, and the
brig tight and well found, we turned to
with will md showed full measure
of gratitude. The cargo, as | remem-
Der it, was made up of little of every.
thing for general trading. The brig
had made three or four voyages along
the west side of the islands, and this
time, as we left Hong Kong behind us,
we steered to the east, that we might
60 down on that coast Of Luzon
Island, which is by all odds the largest
of the hundreds or more islands dot
ting the Pacific from opposite Hong
Kong, but 800 miles away, down to
New Guinea and Borneo.
''We had the best OF weather and
fast run while going to the eastward,
nor did we meet with a mishap Of any
sort until working down the coast to
Luzon. Then the winds were light and
battling for several successive days,
and we made but slow progress to re-
pay us for our hard work. The winds
were still heading us when the captain
was taken sick. Some sort of fever
seized him all of q sudden, and it must
have had a stout hand to keep him
down, for he was in the prime OF life,
and q strong man. 1t was the third
day Of his illness, and the mate had
reported him as no better, when, at
o'clock in the afternoon, as We were
about four miles off the coast of Luz
zon, and well toward it's southern end,
Junk put out from bay and sailed
on q line to Intercept us. There was
no port there, and we were not flying
q trading signal, and the mate had
not taken more than a glance at the
unk through the glass when he ex-
claimed:
May [ be called marine if that
fellow isn't up TO mischief
II was acting as mate at the time,
and he handed me the glass, and asked
me to go aloft and take good squint
at the Junk. / hadn't the glass on him
over minute before / was satisfied
that he was a pirate. He had as many
as thirty men aboard, and thought
| could make out two howitzers on
his deck. He had no signal or flag
flying, as would have been the case
had he wanted to speak or salute us.
There was but little wind, and we
scarcely had steerageway, and the
junk was also moving very slowly.
Before descending to the deck I looked
around the horizon, and down In the
northeast I noted indications of a.
change OF weather. My report on the
junk was eagerly awaited, ard when [
mad finished it MIR. Reynolds said:
"'Look you, Scott, that fellow is
after US, and if he takes the brig none
of us will be spared. Will the men
fight p
Why, sir, what have we to light
with?'
Sc 'Muskets-a dozen of 'em-and
plenty Of ammunition Here, men,
come att
at needed. only a few words of ex-
PLANTATION for the men had made up
their minds what sort of customer
was creeping up on our starboard
bow. The muskets were brought up,
and With them flve or SIX OLD CutlaSses
covered with rust, without the cap
tain being the wiser for it. Indeed, he
was out OF his head and could not
have been made to understand the sit
uation anyhow. When We had made
such preparations as we could the
junk had crept up to within three
quartersof mile of us, and the mate
called us around him and said:
"'Now, men, we all know what that
fellow is after; If he gets possession Of
the brig not one of US will be spared.
We are feWin numbers, but If We make
a stout fight perhaps we can drive him
off. At least we might as well die |
fighting as to surrender and have our
throats cut afterwards
"He then went down and locked the |
door of the captains stateroom. SO |
that he could not get out when the
row began, and as he returned on deck |
it was plain that the junk meant to
lay us aboard without stopping to use
her cannon. Whether she argued that |
we were weak.handed and could be
e ~G